


Set The Story Straight

by tethealla



Series: ten years forward, two steps back. [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-06-18
Packaged: 2017-11-08 02:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 4,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/437943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tethealla/pseuds/tethealla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lovino had never expected those ten years to pass as they did. Or for Antonio to have that mark on his arm, and a promise on his lips. ( Harry Potter!AU )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the night starts here.

**Author's Note:**

> these are snippets of things I wrote set within a future-verse event that was held at sortinghat_rp @ dw (back in its lj days, in fact). basically, Harry Potter AU Spain and Romano, with the added bonus of an event that sends them ten years into their own futures - during the first wizarding war.
> 
> anyway short tl;dr on exactly what the setting is - they’re both wizards, the war against Voldemort starts, Antonio joins the wrong side to protect them, shit goes down, and then they run away together and get gay married and it’s all ridiculous and rainbows. sort of. or, in this case, before the ten years got reverted - with all of their memories from said ten years mostly intact. cue awkward.
> 
> LET ME WARN YOU NOW THOUGH, these are from an FST I made - thus very short, vignette style writing and… lyric bits. also these are… over a year old. ANYWAY. yes, hope you enjoy this, yes have fun, blah blah blah etc.

_ The pleasure part, the after shock  
The moment that it takes the fall apart  
The time we have, the task at hand  
The love it takes to destroy a man  
The ecstasy, the being free  
That big black cloud over you and me _

Years afterwards, Lovino thought he had been far too hopeful. Or maybe just far too naïve. It was easy to get caught up in whirlwind ideas and promises sealed with a flurry of kisses. Maybe he had put too much faith in Antonio, maybe he had put too much faith in the idea that things would go their way for once. Maybe he had just hoped too much that they'd be able to ignore a war and live as they always had. And really, maybe Antonio had done the same.

But at the time, all Lovino could think about was the pain he felt. How his heart had broken when Antonio never showed up in that field in Sweden. How, for the longest time, he thought Antonio was dead, only to find out that they'd all been betrayed. How angry he was at that, and how badly he just wanted things to go back to how they were.

He tried to focus instead at the joy of seeing Antonio smiling at him, the simple little habits they shared. He tried to think of when Antonio had slipped that ring onto him, and how that hushed voice in his ear sounded more hopeful and full of life than anything else he'd heard in years.

Maybe that was why he still held onto the ring he swore he'd throw away. Or maybe he was still trying to be hopeful, even as the war grew worse.


	2. the man who left his past.

_He can see the houses crying over people he let down  
Free from all the expectations, he is ready for a life  
He is done with situations that brought trouble, hate, and strife  
But he cannot forget the memories, the good times with his friends  
He once did think he knew them, until they broke down all his fences_

When he was first caught trying to leave, Antonio had been terrified. He’d thought for sure he was going to be killed - they’d find some evidence of his spying, they’d realise just how useless he was, and suddenly there wouldn’t be an Antonio Fernández Carriedo to care about anymore. All he could think about was making sure Lovino and Emmeline were safe, that he had to make sure to keep any trace of them out of harm’s reach. His mind spun with all the things he should’ve been doing to keep them out of this whole mess, and how much he had messed things up.

While his mind went crazy, all he could focus on was that promise he’d made to Lovino, and how dearly he wished he could be with him. It was hard not to think of that vow they’d made to run away, and as Antonio faced what he thought would be his chopping block, he couldn’t force the image of Lovino’s flushed face out of his mind.

But by some strange and horrible luck - Antonio found himself alive. Alive, and suddenly a useful little pawn for Voldemort’s gaining advances. Another person he could control and use, and Antonio had just screwed up big time for the side he’d started out on.

Once the wound on the back of his neck had been healed, he was shoved back out into the front line. Back out with a mask on his face, and a new set of “friends” that were there to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere but where he was supposed to be. It didn’t take long for him to remember just how hard it was to kill, and just how dearly he wished he could’ve ran just a little faster.


	3. the war.

_ They say that the winter clears the drains, that time heals all things  
And they said that the thought of you would fade, well I see nothing change  
And the dream that I have, breaks just like the day  
I walk along the shore, I take a picture of the waves  
and then I throw it to the floor, I say why did I wake?  
Here in the world there is nothing more than your absence _

During that long, horrible year, Lovino had found himself back in Italy. Most of his family had fled - and honestly, he couldn’t understand why he didn’t himself. Italy was becoming less and less safe, but so was the rest of Europe. England was the worst, and there was little else for him to turn to. (Spain was completely out of the question.)

The winter of that year felt the longest of his life. Once he and Emmeline had left the hopes of Sweden behind, Lovino found himself straying to the seashore, doing nothing but staring at the churning waves. His fingers would curl around that little bit of gold around his finger, and he would find himself daydreaming of something that was never going to happen.

Wine did little to calm his nerves, and coffee did little but keep his mind awake and focused on the half hearted hopes that some idiot was still alive out there. Still, it was a habit - he’d go to the cafe, he’d order his cup, and he’d sit there. He was given a bit of a shock when Matthew Williams appeared one day, joining him for coffee and stirring up feelings Lovino had been trying very hard to put aside.

“Are you sure you don’t know where he is?” Matthew asked, his glasses fogging up from the heat of his drink.

Lovino just kept his mouth shut, shaking his head quickly. Part of him felt excited - if the Aurors were looking for Antonio, maybe there was some hope. But the other part knew just how stupid that was. And Matthew seemed to know that, too.

“You know, I hope he’s all right,” Matthew sighed, looking towards the sea. “For some reason, I have a bad feeling about all of it.”

Lovino let his eyes stray down, down to where that cheerful little band of gold still kept his heart in two. “…Me too.”


	4. chinaberry tree.

_ “Don’t interfere”  
Part of her back was frozen for the remainder of the war  
“Don’t be concerned”  
But I never learned how not to be, as my first love said to me:  
“I don’t care. I’m not there”  
So that I could not sleep  
My whole being was falling apart, so that I soon cried out:  
“Dear friends, hold me!” _

Nearly a year after he had been trapped, something happened that made near everything take a turn for a worse - he was discovered.

It had been a normal enough night - holed up in some grimy Death Eater hideout, waiting for orders from up above. The only problem was that so had other people, and the sudden attack by a group of Aurors had caught many of them unaware. Suddenly, Antonio was standing in a pile of bodies, and the few of them that had survived were running.

It was as he was leaving that he heard his name being called, and realised that his mask had been left behind in the fight.

Most of the nights after that were a blur to Antonio. Suddenly, he had to be hidden, and suddenly every Auror knew his name and face. For a man that had been supposedly been dead for a year, it was strange to hear his name whispered everywhere.

It was maybe a month after he had been nearly caught that he found himself in a similar situation - holed up in some hideout, waiting for the orders to move again. After all, now he had to be hidden, and hiding someone takes effort. But, the Aurors had been following them, and soon they were running through the streets of a small Italian town.

What Antonio didn’t know until may years later is that someone had seen him, yet again without his mask. And this time, it wasn’t an Auror.

(When Lovino finally told him about how he saw him, and how he had been hoping all those rumors were false, Antonio felt that guilt far stronger than he ever had before.)


	5. this town’s religion.

_ This town’s, this town’s religion,  
I don’t get it; I just don’t get it,  
Shoot first, think last, forgive me,  
I don’t get it, but somehow I’m still right here,  
And this is the world we made, it’s too late to start again,  
But at least I know where I belong _

Lovino had never really been one to be in a war. While no one could come close to his brother’s screams and crying, Lovino was just as fast on his feet for running away when it got dangerous. So, when the war had started to come to his home in Italy, he had wanted to run as far away as he possibly could. Instead, he found himself rooted, his mind and feet caught by the rumors of Antonio being _alive_.

At first, Lovino had been very stubborn - not even Matthew telling him to his face that Antonio had been caught with his mask off was enough to sway him. Antonio wasn’t like that. Antonio had been, and always would be in his mind, one of the good guys. Antonio had protected him when they were younger, and had been protecting him all their lives. He couldn’t imagine Antonio on the wrong side of this whole war, going back to being that brat that only cared about blood and status. No, Antonio wasn’t like that.

Instead, he found his hopes dashed, his heart smashed, and instead of grief, he was just angry. Angry at putting trust in someone he clearly shouldn’t have. Angry that he’d been trapped by the hope they’d be together. Angry that he’d let himself get that fooled. There was no idealic future for _any_ of them, and Lovino wanted to curse the heavens for making him wait this long to figure it out for himself. The only choice he had now was to run away, run and go into hiding from the one man he thought would be his savior.

But, even though that band of gold on his finger did nothing but make him sore, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. No matter how many times he returned to that seashore, hell bent on the intent to toss it into the roaring waves, he couldn’t. Even with the war dragging on around him, and with his desperate attempts to hide himself and his brother and all they cared about in their little world, that band of gold stayed tight on his finger. (And no matter how much he wanted to deny it, part of him hoped that band he’d given Antonio stayed on his.)


	6. a rush of blood to the head.

_ Said I’m gonna buy this place and see it go  
Stand here beside me baby watch the orange glow  
Some’ll laugh, some just sit and cry  
You just sit down then you wonder why  
So I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war  
If you can tell me something worth fighting for  
And I’m gonna buy this place is what I said  
Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head _

When Antonio was handed the order to kill Emmeline, his heart stopped.

His mind had raced only for a second - what was he going to do? he couldn’t refuse - before he’d smiled and accepted, half of a plan in his mind. The murder was supposed to be quite simple - kill Emmeline Jansens in her pastry shop, and then burn the evidence. If he managed to kill any of her family and friends in the crossfire, even better! Simple, effective, and an easy kill.

The plan in his mind got to be anything but simple, though.

It’d been nearly two years since he’d first ‘disappeared’ - and nearly two years since he had ever had any contact with any of his old friends. The Death Eaters let him come and go, and once Antonio was able to, he found himself sneaking around France. It didn’t take him too long to find Francis, holed up in some Muggle bar, looking at Antonio as if he’d seen a ghost. It did, however, take a while to convince Francis of his intentions, and even longer to coax Gilbert away from his wand once Francis tricked him into meeting with them.

But, soon, the plan was laid out - Gilbert would come in and rescue Emmeline before the shop burst into flames, and then would take Lovino into hiding as well. And with one binding oath later, both of them would be placed under a Secret Keeper charm - one that even Antonio wouldn’t be able to find them under. He made Gilbert swear that he would never tell them that he had any hand in it, even with all his loud protests that they would deserve to know. That they _needed_ to know.

“How did you feel, Gilbert, when you realised I had betrayed you?” Antonio asked, watching his old friend shift awkwardly in his seat. “And how did you feel when I suddenly came here, asking you to do this for me?”

“…Well, fucking pissed off,” Gilbert answered honestly.

“Exactly.”

They didn’t argue about it again.

But, oh, when that night came, and Antonio watched the little shop Emmeline owned burst into flames by his own hand, he couldn’t help but feel that twinge of fear. _Gilbert had better keep his eyes on them_ , was all he could think, even with the smile he kept carefully on his face and the fingers he kept tight over Lovino’s ring.


	7. half-light i.

_ Lock us up safe and hide the key  
But the night tears us loose  
And in the half light we’re free  
Strange how the half light can make a place new  
You can’t recognize me, and I can’t recognize you _

When Gilbert Beilschmidt had suddenly appeared at his door one night, a very upset and half burned Emmeline in tow, the last thing Lovino wanted to do was run with them. But Gilbert had given him little choice, making him grab the very bare essentials - “Not the pasta pot kid, are you fucking _kidding_ me?!” - before he tugged on both of their hands and whisked them away.

They ran for nearly two days - Gilbert kept having them pop up in different places, swearing someone was on their tail before they would disappear again. Finally, they ended up in some bizarre forest - Lovino later screamed at Gilbert when he found out they were in _Germany_ \- with an equally bizarre little house in the middle of it. After dumping a bunch of food and (old, handed down) clothing with them and swearing he’d be back weekly to check up on them and give them food, he left.

Both of them were in too much shock to do much else but try to set up a “home” in their new residence, with little idea of what even brought them there in the first place. Emmeline cried at night, worried over her brother, and Lovino could hardly rest, worried about his own.

When Gilbert came back a few days later, carrying some of their belongings - “Yeah, kid, I got the fucking pot, shut up.” - Emmeline had nearly punched him, demanding to know what was going on.

Gilbert had shifted awkwardly, at a loss of words before he finally gritted his teeth and answered. “Look. Both of you had a hit out on you - I got it from a _very reliable source_ \- and then we made sure you were safe.”

“But what about my shop? My _brother_!?” Emmeline demanded, angrily grabbing her clothing from Gilbert’s arms.

“Look,” Gilbert said, setting the rest of the stuff down and looking them both in the eye. “You’re both safe, and that’s what matters. I… I can’t explain everything, but look! No one knows you’re here - Secret Keeper Charm and all that - and you’ll be safe until we can figure out what the fuck is going on with this stupid war. Just stay in the house and you’ll be fine!”

“Who in the _hell_ was trying to burn down my shop!” Emmeline snapped.

At this, Gilbert paled, babbling for a moment before he finally answered. “…Antonio.”

Once Gilbert helped them settle in a little better - even showing them the miniature indoor garden he’d set up for them - both of them tried their best not to break down.


	8. peace and hate.

_ I should be gone, cast away  
But still I’d love you  
Through all peace and hate _

It didn’t take too long for them to settle into their new life of hiding. Gilbert had rather cheerfully told them that everyone thought they were dead, and that their plan had gone off without a hitch. Lovino had very ‘cheerfully’ told him to go fuck himself.

Gilbert came about once a week with food, sometimes longer when he feared that someone was trailing him. He’d dodge their questions about who exactly had heard they were to be killed, and would skitter away just as fast as he came. 

Once they had been pacified enough that their loved ones were safe, they settled in a little better. Emmeline would sneak out to the nearby village for food - or maybe just for fresh air, Lovino didn’t blame her - and Lovino stayed inside, still reeling from everything that had happened. He felt sick, but mostly just tired. Part of him just couldn’t care anymore about it all. Even the weight of the ring on his finger didn’t distract him anymore. He tried to focus on what was in front of him, like trying to grow tomatoes in a piss poor garden that only seemed to want to grow potatoes, or the fact that neither of them knew when they could actually go outside again. He tried not to focus on that little dull ache in the back of his heart, or the worries that still spun viciously around his mind.

When Gilbert treated them with few bottles of wine one day, he and Emmeline had nearly gone through the lot of it in one night.

“You know,” Lovino had blubbered to her, finding himself a little more certain about things with wine in his system. “I think… I think I still love him.”

Emmeline had just smiled at him, a little bit of tears in her eyes. “Me too, sweetie. Me too.”

After she had downed another glass, she had smiled at him again, this time with something he had long figured out as malice. “But, if I ever see him again, I’m knocking him flat on his ass.”

They had laughed at that together, drinking the last bottle and dealing with the massive hangover they both had come morning. Lovino knew he would regret spilling his heart out later - but, after they’d been whisked away to Hogwarts suddenly, and Emmeline’s threat held firm, Lovino found out just how much Antonio had still loved him, too.


	9. the only moment we were alone.

Suddenly being back at Hogwarts had scared all of them. Antonio had found himself in a _very_ public place without his mask, and with quite a few Aurors prowling the old school halls. Antonio almost laughed at how he was hiding around in classrooms, feeling like he was twelve years old again and trying to run away from teachers. Only this time, the teachers wanted him dead, and he wasn’t in trouble over a prank.

But, what had really scared him was when Gilbert told him that Lovino and Emmeline had been brought there as well. His mind had suddenly raced with worry, a worry that only broke when he saw the both of them for the first time in nearly two years.

Even if Emmeline had knocked him down flat and nearly killed him. And Lovino had punched him hard enough that he had seen stars.

Suddenly, it had to be explained how they’d been saved, that Antonio had been there for them all along - and Antonio had woken up to a very tearful Emmeline and an embrace he never thought he’d get to experience again.

While Gilbert tried to bring Emmeline to Thijs (mostly to prevent Thijs from killing him), Antonio and Lovino sat alone together for the first time since they had exchanged rings.

“…I’m still fucking pissed, just so you know.”

Antonio had laughed, still marveling at the way Lovino’s hand was wrapped around his own. “Just don’t knock me out again, okay? My head hurts…”

“I’ll do whatever I fucking please, bastard!”

And it seemed to be that ‘whatever he fucking pleased’ included kissing Antonio silly, even after Gilbert had returned and yelled at them both for being gross.

It didn’t take long for Antonio to contact Matthew Williams over those old journals, and bargain for his own release. When they ran away in the predawn light that last day at Hogwarts, Antonio kept his hands tight around both of theirs - and this time, he wasn’t going to let go.


	10. adventures in solitude.

_ Less than forget, but more than begun  
These adventures in solitude never done  
To the names of our wounds  
We send the same blood back from the wars  
We thought we lost you _

Lovino had never expected to have Antonio back - let alone in hiding with them. Suddenly, their hidden little house had a new addition, and all Gilbert did was laugh he was going to have to bring a lot more food.

Their first night back had been an awkward one - Death Eaters had been hot on their tail for most of the way. Antonio had betrayed _them_ , and now he was suddenly someone that quite a few more people wanted dead. But still, their little house was a place of respite from the war all around them, and they pushed away all their other worries as soon as they were back behind those doors. Even if later they were still angry at each other, and still hurt, it hardly seemed to matter for those few hours.

But, it didn’t take long though for them to find out how much of the war had affected them - especially Antonio.

Lovino knew they were all different after what they had been through - but he hadn’t expected Antonio to be so different. He was tired and almost quiet, and the scars Antonio carried were far deeper than the ones he had on his skin. (Even if that horrible scar on his neck still made Lovino shudder.)

Emmeline had been the one to approach him first, curling up with Antonio on the couch and talking to him quietly. 

“We thought we’d lost you,” Emmeline had whispered. And maybe that was enough. They all knew those wounds weren’t just going to suddenly heal, but they finally had each other again. And maybe, even with the hurt they still had, that was enough for now.

(It took longer - and one awkward night together - for Lovino to come around, but he wrapped his hand around Antonio’s all the same.)


	11. set the story straight.

_ I’ll be the one to set the story straight and  
I’ll be the one to take your hand and say  
Now we’ll run, what’s done is done  
We slip through the wires, fight fire with fire  
And we search for a sign through white lines, white lies _

Antonio hadn’t expected them to just completely accept him back into their lives - he had been surprised that they had even welcomed him back at all, let alone taking him along into hiding.

It was hard, that year they were stuck in hiding. Antonio couldn’t keep everything hidden from them, but he still found it hard to admit to things - how many he’d killed, how long he’d wanted to run away, just why he was still so tired. But, they did their best - Antonio would step out now and again to slip more secrets to an Auror, and Lovino and Emmeline would stay safe. He couldn’t turn back the clock and make things different - they were stuck with what he had put them into, and he knew it was going to take years for everything to be fixed or at least brought to light.

But, their little bit of peace was enough for now - even with the threat of the war right on their doorstep.

When Lovino welcomed him back into his heart - and back into his bed - Antonio hardly knew what to do with himself. He just smiled and held his hand close, marveling at the feel of their touch, and the cool bite of their shared gold bands.

When the war was suddenly over and left them with little idea of what to do, Antonio had just laughed, taking Lovino’s hand into his own. “Maybe we can go to Sweden after all, hmm?”

Lovino blubbering and calling him stupid was enough for both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sweden is where they promised to run away to.)


	12. the dream.

_ Lord, let that dream never come true  
Because in the dream, I took my eyes off you  
and in the dream, I nearly lost you  
And terrible things that I cannot mention  
If you had only had my protection  
I was about to kill for you, I was about to be killed too  
when I awoke, milk letting down,  
rage like a wave crashing around  
I won’t let that dream ever come true  
I’ll make myself a wall around you _

It was weird, to say the least, being ten years younger all over again. None of them knew how to suddenly adjust to it, and many of them didn’t. It was strange, being able to remember the few days before it had all started, and at the same point remembering ten years that had never happened. Antonio found himself searching vainly for a ring he never received, and trying to deal with guilt for things he hadn’t even done yet.

When Lovino decided to leave - his family figured that Italy was much nicer than England after all - Antonio had wrapped his arms around him. Part of him was scared that as soon as Lovino was out of his sight, he would lose him all over again, and the panic deep in his heart was something he knew he wasn’t going to just be able to lose.

The days leading up to Lovino’s departure had been awkward - neither of them knew what to do with the other. A few days ago, they had just been young and hardly even aware that they had inklings of feelings for the other, and yet they had just spent ten years being in love. Lovino had taken to flushing red every time Antonio came near, and Antonio had turned nearly as shy.

But, when Lovino was leaving, none of that seemed to matter, and Antonio clutched him close. Lovino hardly even protested, even when Antonio kissed him and cried into his shoulder.

“I just want to forget,” Antonio admitted, clinging to Lovino like he was the last connection he had. “I want to forget all those stupid and horrible things I did. I just… I just don’t want to forget _you_.”

Lovino had stiffened, but as his arms wrapped around Antonio in return, he whispered, “I’ll remember for you.”

And even as Lovino left - and even after Antonio forgot all of those years that never happened - Antonio still touched his fingers for a ring that wasn’t there, and Lovino made sure to keep that ring nearby. Just in case.


End file.
